The present study aims to link three concepts that are important in understanding supply chain performance: value creation, quality management and governance. Failure to align value creation strategies, quality management systems and governance structures leads to inefficiencies which can harm both the quality and economic performance of supply chains. The study goes beyond existing research, which merely examines the relation between quality management and governance.
The study is set up in the context of the European pork sector, where this alignment is of particular importance because of the `vierkantsverwaarding¿ problem: multiple markets, with differentiated requirements have to be served from one (class of) product.
The following research questions have been formulated:
1. What are the characteristics of quality management systems and governance structures used in various European pork chains?
2. What is the relation between value creation strategy, quality management system and governance structure choices in chains?
3. What is the impact of value creation strategies, quality management systems and governance structures on the performance in chains, particularly with regard to 'vierkantsverwaarding' performance?
The data required for answering the questions will be gathered by two methods: (1), case studies in 5-10 European pork chains; (2), survey amongst 3-4 slaughterhouses and retailers about consumer-supplier relations. Specific attention is given to the slaughterhouse-retailer dyad, as this relation is crucial to the `vierkantsverwaarding¿ problem. Results for the study will be used to formulate practical scenarios for industry actors and policy makers for improving alignment between value creation, quality management and governance. |
